By the time Harrison and Wallington kicked off Wednesday night’s Group 1 semifinal, the temperature had plunged to an icy 34 degrees. But Harrison’s offensive attack didn’t need long to warm up in the frigid conditions, as the Blue Tide struck for two goals in the first 13 minutes of play and secured a 2-0 victory at Mahwah High School. Senior forward Justin Aponte and junior defender Modou Sowe both found the back of the net, while Kevin Villanueva picked up two assists. Harrison (20-1-2) book a spot in Saturday’s Group 1 championship against either South River or Haddon Heights at The College of New Jersey. “We said to them, let’s come out and really attack them and see if we can get a goal on them in the first half and see if we can put them under the pressure,” said Harrison coach Mike Rusek. “We thought if it was 0-0 at halftime, we were going to be in a little trouble. What we did out there is what we wanted to do.” Senior forward Justin Aponte sparked his team in the ninth minute when he delivered his 26th goal of the season. Near midfield, the speedy forward called to junior Kevin Villanueva, who crafted a perfectly-placed through ball between two defenders. Aponte collected the pass in the middle of the field, dribbled around Wallington goalkeeper David Wdowiak (seven saves) and buried the Blue Tide’s first goal of the game. “I felt it. I trust him so much,” Aponte said of Villanueva. “I knew that through ball was coming, I just needed to call his name, because that’s what we need — communication — that’s what helped us a lot today.” The Harrison attack didn’t rest on its laurels, as Villanueva picked up his second assist and 24th on the season four minutes later. On a corner kick, Villanueva connected with Sowe, who was hovering near Wallington’s back post. Sowe headed the volley into the net to cap scoring in the game’s 13th minute. A versatile 6-foot-2 player from the West African country of Gambia, Sowe now has 18 goals this season. After teaming with David Marinho to spearhead Harrison’s gritty defensive effort in the first half, Sowe spent much of the second half flanking Aponte at the forward position. He nearly added to Harrison’s lead in the opening moments of the second half, but chipped a shot just wide of the net on a breakaway. Harrison, which beat Wallington 4-0 on Oct. 26, will now look to win its 25th state championship — and first since 2008 — on Saturday. “We just wanted to win, because it’s been four years since we were in the state cup,” said Sowe. “This year, hopefully we can win the game.”